Norristown Drug Lords Admit To Heroin And Meth Ring

NORRISTOWN, PA -- Two significant figures in a Norristown drug ring busted in February 2015 have confessed to their actions, according to a report.

Angelo Betancourt, of Philadelphia, and Douglas Ehrhart, of Norristown, were among several major drug dealers arrested as part of a huge drug bust on February 23, 2015, Montgomery News reports. They admitted to their involvement in the ring in court on January 14 and 15, respectively.

Betancourt, 44, is awaiting sentencing, the report states, while Ehrhart, 53, of the 600 block of Hamilton Street, sought a plea agreement, and was given a state sentence of one and a half to five years, in addition to probation and supervision.

More than 30 people were arrested and charged in the trafficking of heroin, cocaine and methamphetmaine last February, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.

The yearlong investigation began in January 2014 when a wiretap in Medellin, Colombia, alerted DEA agents to “a probable connection to heroin trafficking in Montgomery County,” the District Attorney’s Office said.

The subsequent investigation yielded a total of 32 people involved in the trafficking.

Charged with felony violations of the drug act were Angelo M. Betancourt of Philadelphia; Michael Anthony Daly of Norristown; Charles J. Termine of Norristown; Brian Beckett of Philadelphia; Mary Eileen Henning of Norristown; Anthony Taverno of Norristown; and Glenn R. Titus III of Spring City.

Charged with felony use of a communications device and misdemeanor violations of the drug act were Michael A. Casey of Norristown; Michael L. Chant of Blue Bell; Patricia Chant of Blue Bell; Louise C. DeVincent of Norristown; Stephen Edward Drum of Eagleville; Terrence J. Fitzgerald of Eagleville; Mayte Garcia of Norristown; Glenn Ivan Gratz of Plymouth Meeting; Tina M. Horrocks of Plymouth Meeting; Jeffrey Hutchinson of Conshohocken; Leonard A. Januzelli of East Norriton; Christine Marie Kirk of Plymouth Meeting; Jennifer R. Kozlowski of Bridgeport; Warren Charles Layre of Conshohocken; Todd A. Lewullis of Collegeville; Eileen Nikki Loukidis of Blue Bell; Richard K. Moulder of Perkiomenville; Paul J. Quinn of West Conshohocken; Steven R. Ronca of Norristown; Logan Ruth of Norristown; Norman R. Russell Jr. of Hatfield; Krystal L. Schamerhorn of North Wales; Thomas Mathew Tronoski of Blue Bell; and Ronald M. Turkowski of Philadelphia.

In the course of their investigation, authorities recovered:

• 12.5 oz. of crystal methamphetamine, with a street value of $70,000;
• 20 oz. of cocaine, with a street value of $37,800;
• numerous prescription pills;
• eight firearms;
• 10 mobile phones;
• five vehicles used to transport drugs;
• $44,739 in drug proceeds; and
• drug paraphernalia, including six scales, 3,000 heroin bags and drug-cutting agents.